Principal, Technical Architect in Sheffield

Division: Assessment & Qualifications Delivery

About Pearson Qualifications

We are the UK's largest awarding body and we are regulated by Ofqual (England), CCEA Accreditation (Northern Ireland) and Qualifications Wales (Wales). We offer academic and vocational qualifications that are globally recognised and benchmarked, with educational excellence rooted in names like Edexcel and BTEC. In 2025, we issued 6.5 million grades to candidates worldwide.

About the job

The Principal Technical Architect is a senior expert role responsible for defining, governing, and evolving the technical architecture of Pearson's UK Qualifications Scanning and Marking / Operations platforms, which underpin the secure, accurate, and timely processing of high stakes examinations. Operating at a strategic and cross programme level, the role ensures that architectural decisions support Pearson's regulatory obligations, operational resilience, and long term technology strategy. This role acts as a design authority and trusted technical advisor across multiple delivery teams, working closely with Engineering Leads, Product, Delivery, Security, and Operations.

As Principal Technical Architect, you will design and implement robust architectures for well-defined products and services, with a particular focus on transforming on‐premise .NET/React solutions into Azure.

Key Responsibilities

• Define and govern cloud transformation strategies for Scanning & Marking / Operations platforms, including migration from on premise estates to cloud based services, ensuring continuity of service and regulatory compliance throughout.
• Provide deep domain-led architectural leadership across UK Qualifications Scanning & Marking / Operations platforms, grounded in a strong understanding of marking workflows, scanning operations, examiner interactions, and results timelines.
• Design and implement scalable .NET architectures within a hybrid estate of Azure, AWS and on-premise hosting, ensuring solutions are secure, maintainable and aligned with business goals.
• Take responsibility for clearly‐scoped technical decisions, proactively resolving blockers and ensuring smooth integration between system components.
• Translate business and functional specifications into practical, technical solutions that fit within organisational standards.
• Conduct hands‐on reviews of code and designs, providing actionable feedback to improve quality and maintainability.
• Share technical advice and best practices, fostering a collaborative and learning‐focused environment, acting as a design authority and trusted technical advisor across multiple delivery teams, working closely with Engineering Leads, Product, Delivery, Security, and Operations.
• Provide senior technical leadership and mentoring, raising architectural maturity across teams and influencing outcomes for transformation and production delivery, including incident management and root cause analysis.

Key Skills & Experience

• Demonstrable domain knowledge of Scanning & Marking processes, including technical and operational constraints inherent in high stakes assessment delivery.
• Track record of delivering solutions that operate reliably at scale, particularly during predictable peak periods, and demonstrable experience of cloud transformation architectural design.
• Experience of delivering against a range of architectural patterns within on-premise, hybrid and cloud infrastructure, with proven experience of integrating complex platforms.
• Participation in architectural reviews and Technical Design Authority forums or equivalent.
• Deep proficiency in .NET development, code review and cloud services.
• Experience of the application of artificial intelligence concepts—such as pattern recognition, automation, or content generation—to technical solutions within the Scanning & Marking processes.
• Providing expertise and guidance to critical incidents, including OfQual reportable incidents, including clear and appropriate communications with both technical delivery teams and senior stakeholders.
• Effective problem‐solving, adaptability, and technical acumen.
• Commitment to collaboration, innovation, and continuous learning.
• Strong understanding of information security, systems development life cycle, DevOps practices, and Agile methodologies.

Desirable Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
• Solution architecture accreditation.
• Agile accreditation.

Job Location and Hours

The role is aligned to our Hellaby, Rotherham office, which is located at Junction 1 of the M18. We work a 37.5‐hour week, with all our team free to flex their day around our core hours, which are Monday to Friday, 10 to 4 GMT/BST. All our roles are hybrid working; for this role, that means working from the Hellaby office at least once a week, with up to 3 days a week being required for key periods or projects. Occasional business travel to other Pearson sites may also be required. For this role there is a requirement to provide occasional out of hours support during business critical periods.

Pearson is an Equal Opportunity Employer and a member of E‐Verify. Employment decisions are based on qualifications, merit and business need. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, ethnicity, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status or any other group protected by law. We actively seek qualified candidates who are protected veterans and individuals with disabilities as defined under VEVRAA and Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act. If you are an individual with a disability and are unable or limited in your ability to use or access our career site as a result of your disability, you may request reasonable accommodations by emailing TalentExperienceGlobalTeam@grp.pearson.com.